I shouldn't even be here today
by Keirra
Summary: Law looses a bet and Nami's day ends up being more interesting as a result. Total alternate universe here and lots of ooc because let's be honest, neither of them would ever be in this situation.
1. Chapter 1

A/n: This was going to be a short drabble and then I got carried away…like really carried away. But I giggled to myself the entire time I wrote it so long drabble it is.

* * *

Law looked down at the list in his hands for what must have been the hundredth time. He could not believe this was really happening. He had been so sure he would win the bet with Shachi he hadn't bothered to find out just what he would have to pay if he lost. He sighed heavily, glaring at the neon sign on the outside of the building in front of him.

Law did not like shopping, unless it was for books or medical supplies. He did not like crowds, or really people in general. Most of all he did not like making a fool of himself. However he was a man of his word, and if he didn't go through with at least some of this list he would never hear the end of it

He headed into the store, well aware of his Shachi and Penguin following him. Once inside the store he glanced at the paper one last time before folding it and sliding it into his pocket.

Well, he thought, let's get this over with.

* * *

Nami was not having a good day. Luffy had locked himself out of his apartment last night so he had crashed at her place. Not only had he kept her up all night with his whining for her to "play" with him, he had also eaten most of what was in her fridge and broken her favorite coffee mug. Now, on her day off, she was being called into work because someone else hadn't shown up.

So here she was, bright and early, trudging into work when suddenly a man she had never seen before (a customer?) was standing in front of her. He was tall, lean, tattooed, and a little scruffy looking in his bright yellow hoodie and poofy white hat. He leaned over so his face was level with hers and spoke in a serious, almost grave, tone.

"Would you be so kind as to direct me to your Twinkies?"

Surprised by the mundane request in the serious tone, Nami stared at him for a moment and before she recovered he had straightened and walked away briskly. Figures, she thought to herself, the weirdos are out. I'm not even supposed to be here today!

She shook her head, brushing aside all thoughts of the strange man, and went to clock in. The first part of her day was to be spent on the floor, restocking and straightening shelves.

No more than twenty minutes into her shift she saw the strange man again. She was folding some graphic t-shirts in the men's department and he was standing near the display of ball caps. Normally that wouldn't seem strange at all, maybe he was looking over the products to decide if he wanted one, but that wasn't the case. He was standing completely still and staring at the ceiling. I glanced upwards, wondering if there was something out of place up there. We had once had a bird get stuck in the store and nest up by the roof so maybe that had happened again. I couldn't see anything of interest and lowered my gaze to see that he was gone. Great, now the weirdos were getting to me too, she thought, grumbling under her breath about how she wasn't supposed to be here today.

After she had finished folding the shirts she headed over to the toy department. Her boss had asked her to make sure the action figure's were properly sorted into their different bins. When she turned to enter the aisle she just stood, dumbstruck, at what she found. Someone had emptied the bins, strategically setting up each and every figure into what look like a full scale battlefield. It appeared to be a war between the characters from DC Comics and the Marvel franchise. On the right Thor was battling with Superman, on the left it was Aquaman verses Miss Marvel. Overall it looked like team Marvel was winning the "war". Sighing to herself about the extra work, Nami set about putting all the toys back where they belonged. If she saw a flash of yellow in the corner of her eye as she worked she paid it no mind.

Work moved along smoothly for the next hour or so, when completely out of the blue the strange yellow clad man approached her. This time he was wearing a pair of dark shades and glancing around, looking very suspicious. "The rooster is in the nest," he said in a low voice.

"What?" She asked reflectively as he handed her an object. She glanced down to see a toy cap gun in her hands.

"Use it wisely." He said sagely before turning on his heel and stalking away again. What the hell was wrong with him, she wondered, and is it contagious? She sighed, shaking her long orange hair, before heading back to the toy section to return the gun to it's rightful place.

After that Nami was actively keeping an eye out for the strange man, wondering just how long he intended to lurk in the store and whether or not he had some mental issue causing him to act this way.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of static and her boss's voice calling her name on the walkie talkie on her hip. She brought it to her mouth and answered, "this is Nami. What's up?"

"We have a box of car air fresheners that need to be stocked, can you take care of it?"

"Yes, sir," she replied and headed to the back portion of the building to retrieve the box. Soon she was entering the automotive section to stock the new air fresheners. She heard the sound of something being sprayed before she entered the aisle and again was face to face with the strange man. She opened her mouth, intent on asking him what he thought he was doing but started coughing instead. The air was so thick with air freshener it was hard to breathe. As she coughed the box was taken out of her hands and she felt herself being steered away from the air freshener aisle. The air became easier to breathe and she became aware of a light patting on her back.

"You might want to avoid that area for a little while, until the scent disperses." The man said, flashing her a smile that was somewhere between a grin and a smirk. Smiling was something he should do more, she noted mentally. She was sure she had never seen a more attractive smile. She nodded to him, still gasping for breath, as he walked away. When she could speak her throat felt slightly raw.

"I wasn't supposed to be here today." She said to no one in particular.

At lunch time she was extremely happy to get a chance to sit down, and more importantly, get away from the strange antics of the yellow clad man. Even if the memory of his amazing smile was still fresh in the back of her mind his actions today were off putting. How long was he going to be here anyway? As far as she could tell he was just lurking and acting strange not actually shopping.

She made her way to the employee break room, retrieved her lunch box from the fridge and sat down at the table. She had just started eating when her coworkers Robin and Vivi joined her.

"Nami I didn't know you were working today?" Robin asked, slipping into the chair next to her friend.

She groaned, "I wasn't supposed to but Conis had to call in. I guess her father is really sick or something. Anyway I am only filling in 'til three and then I am out of here."

"Lucky for that at least," Vivi said, "I have been here since seven and won't be off until four."

Nami put her sandwich down as something occurred to her. both Vivi and Robin opened today, maybe they too had seen the strange yellow man. "Hey you guys haven't noticed anyone weird in the store today have you?"

Both of her coworkers laughed before Robin answered with a small smile. "If you mean the man who posed as a mannequin for at least five minutes before scaring some poor old woman-

"Or the man who cornered Kohza in house wares and talked to him about the possibility of unicorns having existed in the past?" Vivi interjected.

"Oh god," Nami groaned, "has he done all that as well?"

Nami's lunch, where she had hoped to escape the strange man's antics, spiraled down into a conversation of all his doings that day. In addition to arguing for belief in unicorns and scaring old women he had placed random pieces of lingerie in various shopper's carts, asked a newer stock boy to help him find a product that doesn't exist, glared menacingly at anyone who approached the Barbie aisle, and filled out a paper application to the store. Using an obviously fake name, Toby O. Notoby he answered the question "Where do you see yourself in three years" with: In a mirror as always.

She sighed, setting the paper down. He had to be doing this all on purpose, right? The question was why? What would posses a grown man to act like this in public? Noticing the clock and the end of her lunch time she abandoned her musings to hurry back to work.

After lunch Nami was assigned a register. She stood, bored out of her mind, at register 7 as she waited for something to do. The candy and random merchandise stocked at the front had all been organized earlier so even that task couldn't provide her with a distraction. She heard someone approaching and smiled to herself, glad for something to do. She turned to greet the customer but her voice caught in her throat when she saw it was him. He had a cart full of matches, lighter fluid, and small containers of propane but that wasn't what really grabbed her attention. It was the wide smile on his face. It was the same one as before but somehow with the addition of an arsonist's wish list sitting in the cart it was much creepier this time.

Neither spoke as he started to pull the items out of his cart and set them on to the counter. Not looking away from him, Nami grabbed the closest item, a box of long matches, and slid it over the scanner.

It didn't beep.

She tried again. Still no beep.

Looking down and inspecting the bar code she found the issue and to her horror all the items on the counter had the same problem. Someone had taken a thick black marker and crossed out the barcode.

"Is there a problem miss?" The man asked, finally breaking the silence.

She shook her head, "not really. I'll have to put these in by hand so it might take a moment though."

He nodded at her, still smiling that slightly creepy smile, "I'm in no rush." The way he said that gave her chills and she wasn't quite sure if it was a bad or good thing.

Conis arrived at two, saying her father was finally doing better, to work an impromptu evening shift. With just about an hour before she was free for the day Nami was making rounds through the store and straitening any messes she found. She should have known, with the kind of day today had been, that was just asking for trouble

One aisle had throw pillows from the next one it scattered around the ground as if someone had stood on the other side and tossed them. After picking them up and taking them to the correct spot she found that the rest of the pillows were tossed over the opposite aisle.

Every alarm clock had been set to go off at 2:15. Every. Single. One. It took almost ten minutes to finish turning off and disabling each one. As she worked she reminded herself over and over that she was almost free for the day. And to think, she thought, I wasn't supposed to be here today. I would have missed all of this _fun._

In office supplies all of the calculators, the cheap 99 cent ones, had been set to say various words. She wasn't even aware that you could make a calculator say 'bell', 'bliss', 'shell' or 'hose' but apparently it was possible.

She did see the strange man one more, though she would swear she saw him leave after buying his arson supplies. She passed him as he was standing by the fish tanks. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she heard him say "I know how you feel…" softly as she walked by.

To say Nami was relieved when she got to clock out at exactly three o'clock would be an understatement. It was, by far, the strangest day of work she had ever experienced in her life. Part of her was extremely happy to see it end, but another part couldn't help but wonder about the man. Even when she had rang him up earlier they hadn't spoken more than a few words. She was no closer to understanding why he had behaved the way he did now than when he had practically ambushed her as she walked in this morning.

She sighed as she walked to the front doors. Odds are she won't see him again and will never know what this was all about. However to her surprise she found him standing in front of the store with two other men.

"There," the man said sounding much more grumpy than before, as he pushed a wadded up paper into the hands of one of his companions, "I did them all. Happy?"

The other men smiled brightly at him, looking as though they were barely containing their laughter. One nodded as he chuckled and the spoke. "Yea, I'm happy. Let this be a reminder to you, don't bet against me in an eating contest!"

Nami gasped loudly. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but that made everything make so much sense. He lost a bet. Of course.

"Who's that?" She looked up at the question and noticed all three men were staring at her.

"Oh, sorry," she said feeling her face flush. She turned intent on leaving quickly before she embarrassed herself further but stopped when a hand gently wrapped around her wrist.

The strange man who had made her day more _interesting_ was smiling down at her. It was the same smile from the air freshener incident. Part grin, part smirk, and for some reason it made her knees feel weak.

"I promise I'm not crazy," he said, his tone light and amused, "I lost a bet and my friends are dicks. I know today was a bit of a hassle for you and I'd like to buy you dinner to apologize if you'd allow me."

Nami smiled and thought to herself, maybe I was supposed to be here today.

* * *

I have no explanation for this, other then that it made me giggle while I wrote it.

Also I totally referenced a movie several times here though I don't know if anyone will get it. It makes me giggle to myself every time I read those lines though. Of course I reworded the quote without realizing it and this is already on tumblr so it's going to stay the way it is now.


	2. Chapter 2

Once Nami was home it occurred to her that agreeing to have dinner with a man she didn't know the first thing about, and had spent all day questioning his sanity, was probably not the smartest idea. She didn't get much time to dwell on it however, not after she noticed her kitchen. The walls, floor, countertops, cabinets, even the ceiling were covered with flour, sugar, eggs and other slimy materials she could not identify.

Nami seethed with rage as she laid eyes on the culprit behind the mess. Luffy was wearing her apron, her favorite one with a orange slice pattern and bright orange ruffles along the bottom, and so caked with powder he looked like a ghost.

She dropped her bag on the only spot that looked half clean before she rounded on him, fist raised. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?"

Luffy had the decency to sound timid when he answered, "I was trying to make pancakes."

She crossed the room, punching him on the top of the head. "So go home!"

"But there's no food there!" Luffy whined, jumping up to sit on the dirty counter. He fell to the floor with a grunt when she pushed him off the surface.

Nami ignored his complaints as she examined the extent of the damage. "Luffy?"

"Yeah?"

"Why is every cup I own dirty?"

"The recipe said I needed two cups of flour and I wasn't sure which cup it meant to I tried them all. Shishishishi."

She took a few deep, steadying breaths before looking at her friend again. "Luffy. I have a date tonight and now, thanks to you, I am not going to have time to get ready. Get out of my house before I hurt you."

Luffy nodded, quickly picking himself off the floor and rushing towards the door not even bothering to take her apron off. He stopped just short of the doorway when she called his name.

"Oh and Luffy?" She smiled at him, an all too familiar look of greed in her eyes, "for every minute I am late for my date I'm going to charge you 1,000 Beri."

He gasped, eyes wide and fearful for a moment. He had known Nami long enough to know she would make good on her threat. Without another word he darted out the back door.

Having successfully chased Luffy out Nami prepared to start cleaning her kitchen. She sighed as she filled the sink with warm soapy water. Her plan had been to take a shower and give herself plenty of time to prepare for her date. Law had said he would pick her up at seven which only gave her about three hours but she couldn't just leave it like that. The mess alone bothered her enough that she couldn't do that, but what would he think of her if he saw it? Filled with determination to finish quickly and still have time to prepare for her date Nami got to work.

* * *

Law was not by any means an unconfident man. He nearly always got whatever he set his eyes on, whether it was a prestigious position in the hospital, a specific item for his very private collection, or the attention of a beautiful woman. However, generally speaking, said woman had not seen him making an utter fool of himself in public for the better part of the day. Understandably he was resolved to make a good second impression.

He had traded his normal attire, his yellow hoodie and light blue and spotted jeans, for a black button up shirt, sleeves rolled neatly up his forearms to show off his tattoos, and pants several shades darker than his usual jeans. He had even forgone his beloved fuzzy white hat in favor of keeping his face uncovered.

Penguin and Shachi, whom he had tried to get rid of ever since leaving the store, had tried to tease him for the obvious extra effort he was making. Thankfully a sharp glare and a reminder of what he could do to them the next time they found themselves injured and in his operating room stopped their jeering in it's tracks.

Despite his threats he didn't truly escape his friends' scrutiny until he left to pick up his date. Why they insisted on hanging out at his house, waving from the doorway and calling out for him to "be a good boy and be home by eleven!" was beyond him. As he pulled his car out of the driveway he made a mental note to _enjoy_ the next time he was expected to patch one of them up. Forgetting to use anesthesia sounded like a fitting punishment.

He pushed his plans for revenge to the back of his mind as he followed the directions Nami had given him earlier. She didn't live very far from the store where she worked and soon he was pulling into the driveway of a small, quaint house with what looked like a small orchard in the back yard. He double checked that the number over the front door matched the address she had written down before getting out of the car and walking up to the door.

After inspecting the door frame and concluding there was no bell he knocked on the door and waited. For almost two minutes there was no sound of movement from inside and he was beginning to wonder if he hadn't knocked hard enough to be heard. His hand was raised, poised to knock again when he finally heard the sound of someone hurrying through the house. The door swung open, revealing a sight that caught his breath in his throat.

Nami had opened the door, hair wet and clinging to her bare shoulders, with nothing but a blue towel wrapped around her middle. The towel was just barely enough to cover her chest and still hang low enough to brush the tops of her thighs. By pure reflex he eyed her up and down, appreciating the creamy smoothness of her long legs, the curves the towel was clinging to and most of all the way she smiled at him. If she was uncomfortable with her lack of clothing she didn't show it.

"Law!" She said, sounding happy to see him, "come in." She stepped aside, opening the door fully and shutting it after he entered. "Sorry I am not quite ready, there was a bit of an emergency when I got home. There's tea in the kitchen if you want some while I finish up." She pointed out the way to the kitchen and, without waiting for a response from him, disappeared into one of the back rooms of the house.

Law frowned for a moment, not sure what to make of her unabashed demeanor before following her suggestion. Sure enough on the table in the kitchen was a pot of hot tea and a cup. He sat in one of the chairs, facing the entrance to the room so he would see Nami when she joined him, and poured the tea. As he sipped the hot liquid his eyes took in his surroundings. The room was very neat, like it was kept up with regularly but he could smell the telltale scent of cleaner in the air. Was she cleaning before he came? What kind of emergency happened earlier, he wondered.

He had finished his tea and was turned away from the door, rinsing his cup out in the sink, when Nami entered the room.

"Sorry about the wait, I hope you weren't too bored."

"Don't worry abo-" He replied as he turned, the words dying on his lips as he laid his eyes on her.

While her new outfit was more appropriate than the towel she had worn earlier, it didn't cover much more. Not that he minded of course, he had found her attractive in the khakis and polo shirt she had work at work. The tight white dress she wore now, with it's plunging neckline and the way it hugged her curves, flaring around her hips to swing hypnotically back and forth as she walked across the room, only complimented her beauty. Her vibrant hair was pulled up in an impressively complicated bun, exposing the graceful curve of her neck and shoulders. He smiled when he saw the blue tattoo on her left bicep.

Realizing he was staring, Law took a deep breath and tried speaking again. "You are well worth the wait."

Nami smiled at him, a slight flush of pink gracing her cheeks. "So what did you have in mind for dinner?"

* * *

Law pulled into the parking lot of The Baratie. It was one of the finest restaurants in the area so he figured it was a good bet she would like it. He was, after all, trying to make up for his first impression.

When Nami started to giggle he had a feeling it wasn't going as planned.

"What's so funny?"

She laughed again before smiling at him, "if you want an enjoyable dinner you do not to take me here."

He parked the car and turned in his seat to stare at her. What on Earth did she mean? He had eaten here on a number of occasions and aside from an overly enthusiastic blond man (he wasn't sure if he was a waiter, a cook, or just a crazy loiterer) that occasionally disturbed the peace it had always been a pleasant experience.

"My friend works here," she said, answering his unspoken question, "he tends to…fawn a bit over me. It's embarrassing really, but I'm not really sure how he would react to me coming in on a date."

"It can't possibly be that bad."

Her expression, eyebrow raised and her lips, her perfectly tinted and luscious lips, twisted into a knowing smirk, dared him to test his luck.

"Alright," he conceded, "where would you like to go?"

At Nami's suggestion 15 minutes later they were seated in a secluded corner of a little hole in the wall Italian restaurant. After they had ordered their entrees, received a complimentary bread basket and their wine was poured, Nami smiled at him over her glass. "This is nice. So tell me Law, what do you do when you are not terrorizing department stores?

"I cut people open and prod at their insides." He deadpanned, enjoying the look of shock that crossed her face before she tried to school her expression into something less horrified. He let his words really sink in before adding, "I'm a surgeon."

She let out a large breath, obviously relieved. "That was not funny," she playfully scolded him as he laughed softly at her reaction.

"Yes it was," he said, his tone amused, "and what about you? What do you do when not being terrorized by customers?"

Nami shrugged, reaching for the bread basket, "school mostly. Bread?" She asked, offering him a slice.

He shook his head, "I don't like bread. What are you studying?"

"Operational meteorology. What kind of person doesn't like bread?"

Law paused, his wine glass almost to his lips, "lots of people don't like bread. What does Operational Meteorology entail?"

She frowned, "I've never met anyone who didn't like bread before. Operational Meteorology is a specialized division of atmospheric meteorology that studies air pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction and then applies mathematical relationships to that data to predict the weather." Her answer sounded rehearsed and thought out, as if it was a question she was asked often.

"Well now you have," he said, sounding almost defensive before smiling, deciding to tease her a little, "so you are going to be a weather girl."

"That's just weird Law," she shook her head before shooting him a half serious glare, "and I am _not_ going to be a weather girl! I'm going to be the smart person who tells the weather girl what to say and makes three times the money."

"Ah so you are in it for the money?"

"Well yeah, I mean I enjoy the work as well but who isn't in their career for money. Why are you a surgeon?"

Because society disapproves dissecting people for fun, he thought to himself, unsure of how she would react to that and instead said, "I guess you could say I enjoy the work as well."

She nodded, frowning into her glass. When she finally spoke her voice was soft, as if she was lost in her thoughts. "When I was little things were always really tight financially. Bellemere always did her best to provide for my sister and I but…well I guess growing up that way is part of why being financially secure is so important to me."

Law thought carefully over her words, letting the unspoken implications sink in before asking. "Who's Bellemere?"

Nami lifted her head and smiled at him, "my adopted mother. She never did like being called "mom", said it made her feel old."

The waiter approached with their entrees, chicken cacciatore for Nami and the shrimp scampi special for Law. He waited until the waiter was out of earshot before laughing softly.

"What's funny?" Nami asked, glancing around to see if she had missed something amusing in the dining room.

"Nothing just, well what are the odds that we are both adopted? Though I'd wager you like your adopted family much more than I do mine."

Nami smiled, "I love my family. I wouldn't trade them for anything."

They finished dinner in relative quiet, each enjoying their meal and the comfortable companionship of the other. After paying and stepping out on to the street they turned and both spoke at the same time.

"What would you like to do now?"

"Let's walk down to the pier."

They stared, his golden eyes never leaving her dark brown ones, for a long moment before she laughed lightly. "I guess neither of us wants to go home yet. The pier is nearby, fancy a walk?"

He nodded, motioning for her to lead the way.

They walked side by side down the sidewalk, Nami guiding them toward the pier. She snuck a glance up at him when his face was turned, something in the distance catching his attention. He was extremely handsome, almost enough to make her feel self conscious if she hadn't noticed the way he had looked at her earlier in the kitchen. She was actually glad he had been taken by surprise when she had opened the door so he didn't notice the way she had checked him out. Unlike the hoodie he was in that morning the dress shirt he now wore fit his upper body perfectly, showing off his lean, muscular torso and arms. That, combined with the strong line of his jaw, his rare smile, and the dark, enticing tattoos she had not yet asked about, made him one of the sweetest eye candies Nami had ever seen.

She looked away, shaking her head and trying to fight the blush she could feel spreading across her cheeks. He may be gorgeous but that was no excuse to gawk at him like a school girl.

Suddenly he grabbed her, pulling her body towards him and holding her up against his chest. His perfectly muscular chest that she had just been trying to stop thinking about.

"Law!" she exclaimed, both in surprise and embarrassment, instinctively trying to push away from him. He held her in place but turned them both slightly just in time for her to see three teenage boys on skate boards speed past them right where she had been standing.

Realization dawned on her as she relaxed in his arms. His grip loosened once the boys had past them and she stepped back just far enough to look up at him but not enough to leave the warmth of his arms.

She could feel her cheeks burning as she mumbled, "thanks," embarrassed about her overreaction.

He smiled, that warm grin she was starting to love seeing, "of course." He started walking again, pulling her along gently.

Nami kept her head down as they walked, intent on hiding her face until it returned to normal. She was trying very hard not to think about how nice it had felt to be pressed up against him and she certainly was trying _not_ thinking about how his arm was still wrapped around her waist as they walked.

Try as she might she couldn't manage it.


	3. Chapter 3

**I am sorry this took me so long, but I am rather happy with this. Hopefully it being almost as long as chapter 1 and 2 combined will make up for the long wait. I really hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Reviews, comments, critics and all are welcome and very much appreciated.**

**Happy reading!**

* * *

Law kept his arm comfortably wrapped around Nami until the growing amount of people on the sidewalk forced him to let go so they could navigate through the sudden crowd. He not fond of crowds, he tended to dislike people in general, and increasing the amount of them around did not help. The lost contact with his date only added to his annoyance. He was about to suggest to Nami that they find somewhere less crowded to finish their date when she let out a joyful squeak.

"Law, look!" she cried, pointing ahead of them. On the pier was even more people, crowded in-between stalls, food vendors, and rides. "I didn't know there was a carnival in town," she said with a bright smile.

This explained the sudden surge in people and before he could respond Nami had pushed through the crowd of people and was inspecting the closest stall's merchandise.

When he finally made his way over to her she was haggling with the timid looking vendor over the price of something. Apparently she wanted him to give it to her at 90% off.

He laughed softly to himself and was about to offer to buy it for her when something caught his eye. There, in the middle of a random assortment of carved figurines, was a polar bear cub. It was carved out of light colored stone and the details of the face and fur were exquisite.

He needed it.

He glanced over at Nami, seeing that she was still talking to the vendor, who it seemed had not only given in but had been swindled out of several other items. Satisfied that he could buy it without her seeing if he acted quickly he picked up the bear, glanced at the price tag and threw down the proper amount of money. He was slipping it into his pocket when Nami stepped up next to him. She was smiling and holding a bag that had several items in it.

"Oh look at all the adorable animal figures! Did you buy one?"

"No."

"Oh really?" She asked, smirking at him, "then what did you just put in your pocket?"

"Nothing."

"Law, I saw you do it. what is it a secret or something?" she asked, an obviously teasing tone in her voice.

Now Law wasn't _ashamed_ of his rather impressive collection of polar bear related items. In fact a room in his house was almost entirely dedicated to them. Pillows, figures, plushies, posters, pretty much anything he could find with a fitting design. However only Penguin and Shachi, his two oldest friends, were aware of it. They had teased him enough that he had decided he would rather not advertise it to the world. He wasn't sure a first date was a good time to tell her "oh by the way I'm a grown man who is obsessed with polar bears."

However when she looked up at him, lips pouting and eyes pleading, he could feel his conviction wavering. He sighed heavily, knowing she was doing this just to get an answer out of him, before pulling the figure out of his pocket and handing it to her.

She smiled when she saw it and turned it all around, inspecting each angle.

"This is beautiful," she said finally, handing it back to him carefully and smiling. "Do you like polar bears?"

Law shifted his weight from side to side, glancing away uncomfortably before answered. "Yeah."

When she giggled he snapped his head back towards her, ready to be annoyed if she was making fun of him.

"I'm sorry," she said in between soft peals of laughter, "the way you answered was adorable." She leaned forward and snatched another figure from the table before holding it up in front of him. In her hand, looking up at him innocently, was a small ginger cat figure.

"I collect cat figures." She said with a grin before turning to the stall vendor and inquiring how much it cost. Before she could reach for her wallet Law handed over the necessary amount to the man.

"You don't have to do that," she protested.

Law smiled at her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. With his arm tightly around her he turned, forcing her to follow and started walking towards the end of the pier.

"Nami-ya lets ride the Ferris wheel." He suggested, pointing towards the end of the pier where the huge structure stood.

"Do we have to?" She asked, a slight tremor to her voice.

"What are you scared?" Law teased, smiling down at her.

"Of course not!" She cried defensively before he pulled her towards the ride.

Law purchased two tickets and they joined the line, composed mostly of couples engaged in various displays of public affection. Nami was pointedly looking away from her own date.

She was furious with herself. She was scared of heights, to the point that just looking out a window of a tall building made her nervous. She also hated to be teased, and the smug look on his face when he asked if she was scared made her blurt out those words she was now regretting. She was staring straight ahead of them, trying to find anything to focus on, anything other than the line of overly affectionate couples before them and the large metal ring of terror before her.

Much sooner than Nami would have liked it was their turn to board the ride. She hesitated, letting Law step up to the rocking bucket seat first but when he turned to look at her expectantly, holding out his hand, she took it without a second though. Maybe with Law's presence this wouldn't be so bad. She sat in the car and as soon as Law was seated she scooted close to him, hoping he wouldn't notice. His smile, however, said that he did and she considered moving away to try and save face but then the ride started to move. With a small shriek she grabbed his arm, closing what little distance was between them and closed her eyes tightly. Law laughed softly at her reaction before rocking the seat experimentally.

"Don't do that!" She shrieked.

Law was sure he had never seen anything more adorable than her, eyes closed tightly and clutching his arm but somehow the slight tremor in her shoulders was off putting to him. He didn't like seeing her like this, even if she was cute as hell when scared. He pulled his arm out of her grasp, ignoring her protests, before wrapping it around her shoulder and pulling her against him.

"If you are this scared we didn't have to do this."

"Shut up!" She snapped, smacking him on the chest, "wait no don't. Talk to me."

"And what would you like me to say?"

"Tell me why you did all those strange things today."

"I told you, I lost a bet."

She smiled, resting her head against his shoulder, eyes still tightly shut. "I know that. I meant what kind of bet, there has to be a story there."

Law sighed, "alright. There is a bar downtown, called Scallywags. It's right by the hospital I work at so after shifts we stop there to unwind. When we got there last night there was more people there than normal. Apparently some professional competitive eaters were in town hosting a pie eating contest. Shachi started running his mouth, claiming that no one could ever out eat him and without really thinking about it I bet him he was wrong. Needle-"

"Wait!" She cried, eyes flying open for the first time since the ride started moving and twisting in their seat to face him. "your friend won an eating contest and that is why you had to do all those things? An eating contest?"

Law was a little taken back at her reaction and amused that something about his story had caught her attention so much she had forgotten she was shaking with fear a moment ago.

"Yes, an eating contest. Why?"

She smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "how would you like revenge on your friend?"

Despite his confusion, Law found himself smiling at the woman. "I'm listening."

* * *

They were not on the ground for more than two minutes before Nami was on her phone, setting their plan into motion.

Luffy answered on the fourth ring, "Nami! You should come over, we are playing games and Sanji is making waffles!"

"Waffles?" Nami asked, looking up at the sky, "why is he making waffles for dinner?"

"Shihihihi I asked him to, hurry up and get here!"

"Wait Luffy, I need your help. I need you to get down to the pier as soon as you can."

"But Nami! Waffles!"

"Luffy," Nami sighed, "I need your help, and if you come you will get to eat a lot and I'll forget that you made me 15 minutes late for my date today." She could hear Luffy make a choked sound from the other side of the line and smiled, "now get here as soon as you can and don't let Zoro drive!"

She hung up and turned to look at Law, who had just finished his own phone call. "They are on their way." He reported.

Nami smiled at him. "Good. Now while we wait lets play some games," she said, grabbing his hang and pulling him towards the game alley.

Law wasn't usually one to let people take charge like this. Quite the opposite in fact. He preferred to be in control of his surroundings, but looking at their hands intertwined as she led him through the crowd he decided that if Nami was the one leading he didn't mind it so much.

Shachi and Penguin arrived first, meeting Law on the sidewalk in front of the pier.

"So," Shachi said, "what did you do wrong?"

"Excuse you?" Law asked, arching an eyebrow in question at the shorter man.

"Well you did something wrong and your date bailed, right?" Penguin asked

"And you are assuming that why?"

"Well why else would you call us and say we needed to get down here ASAP. Honestly I was expecting you to be hurt or something."

Law sighed, mentally debating if he should smack them or just call them the dumbasses they were being, when he felt a hand wrap around his waist. Nami had snuck up behind him, the large snow leopard plushie he had won her earlier tucked under her arm. He smiled, not sure which made him happier, the stunned look on their faces or the feel of her body pressed close to his own.

"Are these your friends, Law-kun?"

He settled his arm around her shoulders, "yes. This Shachi and Penguin. Guys, this is Nami-ya."

She smiled at them, their expressions even more confused than before.

"So why are we here?" Penguin asked after a long moment.

"Law-kun was telling me about your bet the other night and well, we had an idea. There is hot dog eating contest here at the fair. If you entered I bet you can't win it."

The guys laughed. "Did he not tell you how I won the other bet? Of course I can win this. What's in it for me?"

"Since you seem to take amusement in embarrassing Law it's simple. If you win he will spend an entire day, in public, dressed entirely in clothing out of my closet. Needless to say if you loose you are the one getting a makeover."

Law looked down at her in surprise, before leaning towards her to whisper in her ear, "I did _not _agree to that."

"Do you trust me?" She whispered back, her breath hot against his skin. He nodded and she laughed softly, "then don't worry about it."

He straightened, looking at his friends who had been watching them strange smiles. He was sure that this little display was going to earn him some teasing later, but if Nami was right, and his trust not misplaced, he would have plenty to hold over Shachi's head in the future.

"So," he said, "do we have a deal?"

Shachi was quiet for a moment, considering the stakes no doubt, before speaking. "Yea, we do. You'll look lovely in a skirt Law. When is the contest?"

"In about an hour," Nami answered, "It's on the end of the pier opposite the Ferris wheel."

"Got it," he said, smiling under the brim of his hat, "c'mon Penguin, let's check out the games."

As Nami and Law watched the guys walk away she started to giggle. He glanced down at the woman, amused to see her cheeks starting to turn red as her giggles turned into full blown laughing. "Did…did…" she gasped, trying to speak in-between peals of laughter. She grabbed his arm, trying to catch her breath and calm down enough to speak. After a few moments she was able to say, "did you see their faces when I put my arm around you? I thought the one with the red hair was going to faint for a moment there."

He smiled, "yeah Shachi was pretty surprised."

She looked up at him, opening her mouth to speak again but the ringing of her phone interrupted. She pulled it out of her pocket and handed him the stuffed toy before stepping away from Law and the noise of the game alley they were standing next to. Law watched as she smiled about something the caller said before she starting giving directions to where they were. After a moment she must have spotted her friends since she began to grin and wave.

Law turned his head, trying to figure out which person in this crowd were her friend she was so sure could win this contest and put Shachi in his place. He now hoped more than ever she was right, he did not want to add pictures of him in a dress to the list of things his friends held over his head.

Walking towards his date he saw a large group of people, led by a skinny boy wearing an old fashioned straw hat. The boy smiled and ran up to Nami, yelling her name loudly and confirming his suspicions that he was her friend. Soon all of the group was gathered around her, most for them speaking all at once and blocking his view.

"Law!" Nami called, shouting to be heard over the sudden commotion, "get over here!" She pushed her way out of the group to wave him over.

While not exactly looking forward to meeting such a large group of people all at once he followed her beckoning and joined her amongst the now curious stares being directed his way.

"Guys this is Trafalgar Law," she said with a smile before starting to point out her friends and saying their names one at a time.

"This is Luffy," she introduced the strawhatted boy first while he was apparently trying to pronounce his name. "Trafagur? Trangrrr? Trafin?"

"This is Robin and Franky," she said, smiling at a tall dark haired woman and a mountain of a man with spiky blue hair. They smiled back, the woman saying it was a pleasure to meet him, before taking Franky by the hand and saying they were off to ride the Ferris Wheel.

"Trampoline?"

As they walked away Law could hear him complaining that there was nothing "super" about that kind of ride.

"Trumpet?"

"And then there is…." she paused, looking all around, "guys where is Zoro? Wasn't someone keeping an eye on him?"

"Tabasco?"

"Like I'd want to keep tabs on that Mossy-headed jerk," a blonde man in a suit, who seemed strangely familiar to Law, said.

"Trafannie?"

"Sanji-kun, you know if he gets lost I am the one Mihawk is going to be calling to look for him later right?" Nami gave him the same look she had used to learn about Law's polar bear figure, lips in a pout and big brown eyes looking up at the man sadly, "you don't want him to wake me up at the crack of dawn on my day off, do you?"

"Traffy?"

The blonde man's entire demeanor changed to quickly Law was surprised he didn't get whiplash. His scowl was gone replaced with a sickeningly sweet expression as he suddenly fawned over "Nami-swan," launching into a monologue about how she deserved her beauty sleep even if she was pretty enough not to need it and recognition hit Law like a sack of bricks.

"Trombone?"

He was the guy from the Baratie, the cook or waiter, or whatever, and he suddenly felt a great swell of appreciation towards Nami for having spared him hearing the man's flirtations during his meal. He made a mental note to thank Nami for avoiding that later.

"Traffic?"

Sanji's attentions towards his date would have bothered him more, but her expression told him she wasn't really listening to what the man was saying. She turned back to him and gestured towards a tall man with an afro.

"This is Brook."

The tall man smiled and gave him a bow. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He straightened and look at Nami, "Nami if you would be so kind as to let me-"

To Law's surprise the man's query was interrupted by his date's fist, knocking the much taller man to the ground.

"Traffles?"

"I told you to stop asking me that!" She shouted. She took a deep breath and glanced at Law, "sorry about that, he is a bit of a pervert."

He laughed softly, watching the tall man stand back up and rubbing the bump forming on his head, before saying "no need to apologize."

"Trafunnie?"

"And finally this is Chopper and Usopp," she said, pointing out the small reindeer and long nosed boy. The had already started to break away from the group, turning to wave when their names were called before going back to talking loudly about exploring the food stalls.

That seemed to be the only exchange to distract Luffy from his attempts to conquer Law's name, a wide smile on his face as he moved to catch up with the boys on their quest for food.

Nami however grabbed a hold of the back of his shirt to stop him, "and where do you think you are going?"

"But Nami! They are going to get food!"

"Yes they are but I need your help." She said, ignoring his pouting, "I need you to do something for my friend."

The boy cocked his head to the side in confusion, "you want me to do something for Triffle?"

She groaned, "Damnit Luffy. Tra-Fal-Gar! Trafalgar!"

He clapped his hands together, turning to face Law, "I got it! I'll call you Truffles!"

She sighed, prepared to make him sound out the name with her when Law placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, the contest is going to start soon anyway."

"Contest? What contest?"

"Luffy I need you to enter a contest, and I need you to win it."

"But I don't want to enter a dumb contest, I want to go eat with Usopp and Chopper!"

"If you win I will forgive the 15,000 Berries I charged you for making me late for my date."

"Fine," he said, looking put out about the situation, as he dropped to the ground to sit to pout and drawing circles on the concrete with his finger.

Most of her friends had gone their own ways by then, but Sanji was apparently still within earshot as he suddenly appeared at Nami's said.

"Date? Who are you on a date with?"

She sighed, "Sanji, Law is my date and now is not the time. Now please, go find Zoro." Surprisingly he stopped vocalizing his displeasure but if looks could kill, Law was sure he would be in some sort of danger from the glare being directed his way as the blonde man stalked off to find their missing friend. Satisfied that he was really leaving this time, Nami started to explain the plan to Luffy.

"Wait…" Luffy said, stopping Nami mid explanation about the bets, "you want me to win an eating contest?"

"Yes Luffy, an eating contest."

The boy popped up from the ground like he was made of rubber, "why didn't you say so!? Let's go!"

They got Luffy signed up and directed onto the little stage where the contest was being held before calling Shachi over to get him entered as well. The last thing they wanted was for Shachi to realize he was being set up.

"Are you sure you want to do this Law?" Penguin asked, looking uncomfortable. "You know Shachi is going to make a big deal out of gloating over this."

"Oh no way, he can't back out now!" Shachi said with a laugh, "just remember when you pick clothing out for him that a mini skirt is the way to go, okay Nami?"

She nodded, pushing him gently towards the stage, "yeah, yeah, you just remember that when you are the one squeezing into my skirt."

Shachi grinned at her, "no way doll face, I'm going to win this."

Nami smiled at him sweetly, trying hard not to laugh at his overconfidence, "break a leg, and don't call me doll face."

Once the rest of the contestants where directed to their seats Nami, Law and Penguin found a comfortable place to watch, sitting on a bench off to the side of the stage. Once they were settled the announcer started explaining the rules of the contest. It was the same general rules most eating contests employed, as a hot dog contest both the dog and bun needed to be eaten, the first to finish their food won as long as they didn't throw any of it up during the contest, and the winner received a golden medal and a booklet of coupons for the sponsoring restaurant.

They were starting to bring out the huge platters of food when Usopp and Chopper showed up, the smaller of the two holding a stick of cotton candy almost as big as he was.

"What's going on Nami?" He asked, climbing up onto the bench next to her.

"Luffy is going to win this eating contest," she said, reaching out to snag a piece of his cotton candy and popping it into her mouth before pulling the small reindeer into her lap to make room for Usopp to sit as well. "Let's cheer him on okay?"

"Okay!" Chopper said excitedly.

Soon the contest was ready to begin, the announcer counted down from three and shot a pop gun to signal the start. Immediately Luffy, Shachi and the other contestants (a girl with long pink hair, a huge black bearded man, and a few nondescript others) dug into their food.

Law was surprised at first by the way Luffy ate, shoving things whole into his mouth and almost immediately swallowing, impressed by how the boy didn't choke on the first hot dog. The crowd was loud, everyone cheering for their picked favorite to win and Law was amused by the way Nami and her friends were yelling and calling out encouragement to Luffy.

As the contest progressed it became obvious to everyone that Luffy was in the lead, and if he kept his pace up, he would win. In the end it was down to Shachi, Luffy and the pink haired girl. However both Shachi and the girl still had several hot dogs on their plate when Luffy popped the last one into his mouth and grinned.

"I WIN!" He yelled loudly, standing up and showing that his stomach had stretched enough to make him look like a beached whale. Law was at once disgusted with Luffy's antics (no one should be able to eat that much, that quickly, plus most of that food had been bread) and fascinated by the obvious elasticity of the boy's stomach. He wondered idly how much he would have to bribe the boy to get to dissect him sometime, if he promised to put everything back where it belonged. He shook his head, dismissing the thought since he figured Nami would object and reminded himself that everyone dies someday and maybe then he would get his opportunity.

In contrast to Luffy's celebrations, now being joined by Chopper and Usopp who had ran up to the stage, Shachi looked like he was going to be sick. He hadn't even come in second, but in third place behind the pink haired girl who was still eating her hot dogs as if the contest had no importance to her in the face of the free food.

Shachi made his way over to Law, making a point not to look the taller man in the face. "I guess this means…" He paused, hesitant to actually admit defeat.

He was saved from finishing his sentence when Luffy bounced over to Nami giggling.

"Nami! Truffles! I won like you asked me too so you aren't mad at me anymore right?"

"Not anymore, just don't do ever that again. It took forever to clean my kitchen."

Shachi glanced between Nami and Luffy, a shocked expression on his face. "Wait…you two know one another? You asked him to win? You guys cheated!" He rounded on Law, "you only made that bet because you knew he was going to win! Admit it!"

Law frowned at Shachi, "I did not _know_ he was going to win, Nami-ya just said he would probably win. I was just as much at risk of loosing as you. Don't tell me you are going to back out now, are you?"

Shachi looked like he was going to do just that, until he noticed the glare he was receiving not only from Law but Nami as well. He sighed, "no, I am not."

Nami smiled, "good! I have the perfect sundress for you to wear tomorrow! It's going to bring out your eyes so beautifully."

Penguin laughed, clapping Shachi on the shoulders. "I am going to have to make sure I have my camera tomorrow," he said with a grin and Shachi sighed again.

"Be at my house at 8 AM tomorrow, don't you dare be late or try and skip out," Nami said, waving a finger at the moping man.

Law smirked, "don't worry, I will personally make sure he is there on time."

Shachi gulped audibly, knowing there really was no way out of this.

Nami pulled out her phone, glancing at the time. It was starting to get late and her lack of sleep the night before, not to mention the unusually straining day at work thanks to Law's antics, was starting to catch up with her. She turned to Law, "we should probably call it a night if you are coming over so early tomorrow for Shachi's makeover."

He nodded, "that's a good point, Shachi needs his beauty rest after all."

"Luffy, tell the others I said good night," Nami said, turning to walk away with Law before stopping and looking over her shoulder, "and make sure someone finds Zoro."

"Shihihihihi," Luffy laughed, "we'll find him. He can't be that lost."

Nami sighed, remembering the last time Zoro lost when they were shopping. They found him in a park on the other side of town. Said he was looking for a place to nap or something like that to try and play like he hadn't gotten royally lost. Nami was sure that he was so hopeless he could get lost trying to find the front door from inside his own home.

Oh well, she thought. No matter how lost he got they always managed to find him somehow. Taking her stuffed leopard back from Law she walked with him towards the street trusting that her friends would take care of their directionally challenged companion.

When they finally left the crowds of the carnival behind they found themselves alone in the dark streets. Most of the businesses had closed by now so the only light was from one of the few street lights along the road. Unconsciously she found herself moving closer to Law, not realizing just how close to him she was until she bumped against his arm.

"Oh," she said, immediately stepping away, "I'm sorry."

Law smirked, reaching out and catching her around the shoulders to pull her close. "Stay by me," he said, carefully not meeting her eyes as they walked. He kept his arm around her, keeping her close and warm all the way back to his car.

They rode back to Nami's house in comfortable silence, neither speaking until the car was parked in her drive way. Nami turned in her seat to say good bye but to her surprise, without so much as a glance her way, Law unbuckled his seatbelt, got out of the car and walked around to open her door. She sat there for a moment, looking at him and his outstretched hand.

"What are you doing?"

"I should think it obvious," he said with a smirk, "walking you to your door of course."

She shot him a strange look before unbuckling her seat belt and taking his hand.

"What?" He asked as he helped her out of the car.

"Nothing it's just…well, you didn't strike me as being such a gentlemen is all."

He laughed as they walked towards her front door, "Cora-san would be angry with me if I wasn't at least a little bit of a gentlemen."

They reached her front door and she turned to face him. "Who is Cora-san?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment, studying her face, before he answered. "I'll tell you all about him, someday."

"I'll hold you to that one," she said moving to unlock the door. She opened it, setting the leopard down on the table just inside the doorway but she hesitated before entering the house herself. Despite being tired she realized she didn't want the night to be over. She turned back to smile up at him, "you know, I wasn't supposed to be at work today."

"You weren't?"

She shook her head, "no. I was covering someone's shift. At first I was rather annoyed about it," she paused, biting her lip before finishing her thought, "but now I'm glad I was there."

Law stepped forward, closing most of the distance between them. Their eyes met as he reached up to brush his fingers against her cheek.

"There is something I want to try Nami-ya."

"What's that?" She asked, hoping she already knew the answer.

His other hand slid around her waist, pulling her to close the small gap that had remained between them, before leaning in to press his lips against hers.

It was a quick, chaste kiss. Just the pressing of his warm lips against her own, but it made Nami's heart race. He pulled back to judge her reaction, to see if the kiss had been as welcome and pleasurable on her end was it was on his. Judging by the look in her eyes and the blush on her cheeks he assumed it was safe to say that is was.

He smiled at her. "I'll see you tomorrow Nami-ya."

She returned the smile and nodded before slipping into the house. She leaned up against her closed door and waited until she heard him drive away before letting out a breath she had been unconsciously holding. She picked the stuffed leopard up, hugging it to her chest and smiling.

Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.


End file.
